Welcome to my blog, in this space I will share recipes, cooking tips, pantry ideas, kitchen gadget must haves and much more...I am making it a goal to become a better cook and hopefully can help my followers see cooking is not as hard as you think... no I am not Julia just Julie...... Stay tuned to The Year of the Cook!

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

TOMATO, OLIVE, FETA AND MINT SALAD

Tomatoes...GET THEM WHILE YOU CAN...seriously. Pretty soon we will have only the bland ones available. This goes with green beans too..which I will blog tomorrow. It is still somewhat summer-like outside, so nice refreshing side dishes are great!!!

Ingredients:

4 large ripe tomatoes sliced

1/2 large cucumber peeled, seeded and diced

1/2 lb cherry or grape tomatoes, halved (preferably yellow or orange)

1/2 cup kalamata olives halved

6 oz feta cheese crumbled

1/4 cup chopped fresh mint

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 tsp lemon zest

4 tsp lemon juice

Salt

Pepper

Combine the crumbled feta and mint in a small bowl and set aside. Season tomato slices with salt and arrange them on a serving platter, slightly overlapping. Toss the cucumbers over the tomatoes. Add the cherry or grape tomatoes on top and then the olives.

Whisk the olive oil, lemon zest and lemon juice together. Season with salt and pepper. Drizzle this mixture over the salad. Scatter the feta, mint mixture over the dressing and garnish with a mint sprig or two.